I have an RL24 mkIII that had been cleared out converted to a drop keel. For racing its light and good but for cruising it seems to lean a lot more than other RL's. It has been suggested that I put some ballast in the boat to make it more wife and kid friendly. I was going to try about 20-40kilos first to see how it goes and plan to be able to remove it when I am racing.
The issue is that two people that I considered had good sailing knowledge have differing opinions on where to place the ballast and not only do they disagree with each other but say the other is counter productive.
Person 1. Place the ballast on the floor around or just infront of the keel box.
Person 2. On the inside walls above the waterline about the same placement fore to aft as the keel.
I cant see how having it against the inside of the boat walls works as half the weight would be on the wrong side of the boat but person 2 swears black and blue its the right way to do it.
Any advice or where I should look would be greatly appreciated.
Crikey Andrew, who needs enemy's when you have a friend who recommends placing ballast wide and high. That is suicidal, Ballast needs to be as low as possible and close to the centre of the boat, except of course with water ballast when you have the ability to transfer the water to the windward side when you go about.
With the RL24 ballast if needed should preferbly be around the keel case, and it would be best in the form of water containers, as water becomes neutral weight if the boat becomes flooded and would not compromise the floatation, I doubt that you wou would even notice the diffierence by adding just 40 Kilos.
Have you considered easing the main a little, or dropping in a flattening, or the first reef in your mainsail when you have your wife on board? Remember the boat does sail better kept reasonably flat.
If you do decide to add ballast please ensure that it is properly secured.
